Thursday, April 24, 2014

In Honor of National Poetry Month...

Like most of us with blogs, I dabble in a bit of writing. Actually, I write a lot. But I don't share my work with others. I'm weird about it; can't explain. Anyway, I have written a lot of poetry over the years. Got me through some ghastly high school years (yep... I was one of those angry, sullen teens lol).

Anyway, here's a piece that I'm extremely proud of. I wrote it for a Goodreads challenge a few years back, where we had to write a poem or story with the theme "silent".

The Sewing Kit

You ask me what’s wrong and the effect is immediate,
It feels like as if trapdoor has slammed shut in my mind,
I press my lips together, painfully so, and you recognize the symptoms, 
Panic fills your eyes, but it’s too late.

A thimble, a needle and silken thread,
Constructs of my mind are all that keep you from the truth,
Shakily, a phantom hand threads the needle and lifts to my lips,
For every answer that you demand, I feel the thread pulling tighter,
My lips, torn and bleeding, but mending together anew,
The new skin is waxy and pink and tender to the touch, 
Unbreakable, I am made silent.

Your eyes bore into mine,
Begging for me to speak, pleading for the truth, 
Though, in this desperation, I think you’d even accept a lie,
Some words, any words, to ease your mind,
Just say something, you eyes demand,
And still, I remain silent.

I do not know how I appear, 
but on the inside my stomach churns,
Tears burn in my eyes and my own breath suffocates,
I want to tell you how I feel,
But the adrenaline pumps and I feel the urge - fight or flight, 
No, I scream inside, as I feel myself turn away from you,
Your eyes widen and my tears fall,
I wonder if I’ll ever speak at all.

My back is to you now and I hear you take a step toward me,
I feel the warmth of your fingertips as reach out to me, 
Hovering so close to my skin and then you touch me, 
My eyes close and I shudder, but I don’t turn around,
A moment or minutes or even eons pass; exasperated, you sigh,
Your hand falls and I hear you walk away,
Still silent though we’ve both said too much.

So??? Any thoughts? Feedback is appreciated, but be gentle :)

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